Reviews

The John Report: WWE SummerSlam 2024 Review

By John Canton • Published 3rd August 2024
WWE SummerSlam Review 2024 tjrwrestling

It’s WWE SummerSlam featuring six huge title matches, plus the CM Punk-Drew McIntyre grudge match.

This year’s WWE SummerSlam has a unique lineup because there are seven matches advertised for the show and all seven of them are singles matches. I would have liked to see a bit of a variety to shake things up, but I am looking forward to the show. Most WWE PLEs in the Triple H Era of booking have five matches, so at least they have seven total matches at SummerSlam, which is one of the biggest shows of the year.

It’s a stadium show taking place in Cleveland at the Cleveland Browns NFL stadium and there are going to be over 50,000+ fans in attendance. It’s always cool to see such a big crowd. I’m happy for Cleveland getting a WWE stadium show.

There was a pre-show WWE SummerSlam Countdown for three hours starting at 4 p.m. ET, but I don’t watch those. The main show started at 7 p.m. ET and it should be a fun night. Near the end of the Countdown show, they showed many wrestlers arriving earlier in the day and walking around backstage to prepare for the show. That was followed by Jelly Roll singing “God Bless America” at the end of the Countdown show. Let’s get to it.

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WWE SummerSlam
From Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio
Saturday, August 3, 2024

It was a packed house at Cleveland Browns Stadium and here comes the WWE Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque to welcome us to the show.

Triple H walked out to a huge ovation. He stood in the long aisle rather than go down to the ring. Triple H: “Cleveland, are you ready? Then, for the thousands in attendance, for the millions watching around the world…welcome to SummerSlam!” The crowd cheered. Triple H cued up Jelly Roll for a song.

Jelly Roll was in the ring with his band singing the song “Liar.” I don’t know much about Jelly Roll, but I’ve heard some of his songs in the last few months and he is a really good singer. He’s also a legit lifelong WWE fan, so that’s pretty cool. He had a nice performance here.

The Miz was in the crowd reminding us that he is the host of SummerSlam. The Miz said that he is in the Dawg Pound because he wanted to feel the energy of the Cleveland crowd. The Miz said that the biggest party of the summer starts right now.

Rhea Ripley was shown walking backstage where she got a hug from Dominik Mysterio and they made their way to the ring. Ripley made her entrance trying to win back the Women’s World Title that she held for 379 days before she had to give up the title due to an injury. There’s a long aisle way since it’s a stadium show with 50,000+ fans in attendance.

The commentary team for SummerSlam is Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Pat McAfee on hand to call the 37th SummerSlam. There’s a referee cam on referee Eddie Orengo, so that’s something new for the show.

Liv Morgan was up next as the Women’s World Champion who likes to tell us to watch her. The ring announcer Samantha Irvin did the championship introductions when both women were in the ring. Cole mentioned that Ripley’s last singles loss was 26 months ago against Liv Morgan, so that’s a cool stat. It was about 14 minutes into the show when the match began.

WWE Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley (w/Dominik Mysterio)

The match started with Morgan running away from Ripley repeatedly. Ripley managed to get a hold of Morgan leading to multiple clotheslines by the powerful Ripley. There was a half-n-half suplex from Ripley leading to Morgan bailing to the floor again. Ripley licked Dominik’s cheek in front of Morgan. Ripley worked over Morgan with punches and a chop to the chest. Ripley sent Morgan into the steel steps and then they went back into the ring. Ripley nailed Morgan with a headbutt and a slam that sent Morgan back first into the turnbuckle. It was like a Riptide into the turnbuckle. Ripley tried a Riptide, Morgan slipped out of it and Morgan sent a charging Ripley into the turnbuckle. Morgan sent Ripley’s right shoulder into the turnbuckle. Ripley shouted “it’s out” referring to her shoulder. Ripley told the referee that she didn’t want to stop. Ripley left the ring, so Morgan kicked Ripley in the shoulder and the back of Ripley’s shoulder went crashing into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Morgan got a two count. Morgan kicked Ripley repeatedly in the right shoulder and then Morgan rammed Ripley’s shoulder into the mat. The fans chanted “Let’s go Rhea” and “Let’s go Liv” as Morgan grounded Ripley by working on the right arm. Morgan hit double knees to the right shoulder, but Ripley came back with a kick to knock Liv down. Morgan went for a suicide dive, Dominik shoved Ripley out of the way and Morgan dove onto Dominik to knock him down on the floor. Ripley banged her shoulder against the commentary table and then pulled on her right arm so the shoulder was back in the joint. That’s a good spot.

Analysis: Great job by Ripley selling the right shoulder injury and then doing the spot to pop it back in place. It’s really creative to even do a spot like that.

Ripley continued on offense with a dropkick that sent Morgan into the turnbuckle. Ripley slammed Morgan face first into the mat for two. Ripley went for a lifting move, but Morgan countered with a DDT. Morgan charged right into a kick by Ripley. Ripley applied the Prism Lock submission while continuing to favor the right arm. Live countered that to send Ripley into the turnbuckle. Morgan came back with Crucifix Driver into a pin for two. Morgan applied an armbar on the right arm, but Ripley was blocking it. Ripley managed to get back to her feet and hit a Powerbomb for two. Ripley trash talked Morgan, who came back with a headbutt and Liv pulled on Ripley’s right arm against the middle rope. Morgan grabbed a chair from ringside. Morgan brought the chair into the ring while Ripley shoved her shoulder into the turnbuckle a few times to get her strength back. Ripley kicked Liv so the chair was knocked out of Liv’s hand. Ripley hit a Riptide slam. No cover. Ripley grabbed the steel chair so Dominik grabbed it out of her hands. The fans booed while Dominik said that you can’t win the title like this, which is true. Morgan dropkicked Ripley in the back to knock Dominik off the apron. Morgan hit Oblivion for one…two…and no! Ripley kicked out. Huge pop for that. Dominik slid the chair into the ring, he distracted the referee and Morgan capitalized with Oblivion onto the steel chair. Morgan sent the chair out of the ring. Morgan covered Ripley for the pinfall win! It went 15:55.

Winner by pinfall: Liv Morgan

Analysis: **** It was a great match with a lot of drama throughout the match and then the finish with Dominik screwing over Ripley to help Morgan get the win. My prediction was that Dominik would “accidentally” cost Rhea the match and that’s kind of how it was done, but then we saw after the match that Dominik was definitely on Liv’s side. Ripley did an awesome job of selling the right shoulder injury throughout the match, she was dominant at times and then she lost because of Dominik screwing her out of the win. I didn’t expect a title change here. I figured Liv would keep the title in a cheap way and that’s what happened. Liv and Rhea work really well together. Liv is having the best run of her career while Ripley is an awesome performer.

After the match, Dominik Mysterio had a smirk on his face while Morgan celebrated with the Women’s World Title. They showed replays of what happened. Dominik picked up Morgan and Dominik kissed Morgan on the lips. Cole: “Dominik, you sorry two-timing son of a bitch!” The fans were booing loudly while Dominik put his arm around Liv’s shoulder and walked away with her. It’s weird that Dominik wears his wedding ring, but he is doing that too. Anyway, the fans were booing Dominik and Morgan while Pat called Dominik a “piece of s**t” to describe Dirty Dom. The fans were booing loudly for this.

Analysis: There’s the heel makeout session for Liv and Dominik to celebrate the win. Liv had an expression on her face like she didn’t know Dominik was going to help her win, but as a heel, she could just be fooling us. Anyway, I’m interested to see how things go from here because I assume Dominik will be out of The Judgment Day group now and paired with Morgan, which is certainly an interesting duo going forward. Also, I liked how the announcers reacted to Dom’s actions.

There were some commercials promoting various WWE things.

Sami Zayn was shown getting ready for his match.

A video package aired about the Sami Zayn-Bron Breakker match for the Intercontinental Title.

The Judgment Day’s clubhouse was shown with Damian Priest asking Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, and Carlito where Dominik was. Priest asked Balor if he knew Dominik was going to do that. Balor said he didn’t know. Balor, JD & Carlito left to go look for Dominik. Priest said “I’m going to kill this kid” about Dominik.

Analysis: It’s smart to do a backstage segment like that right after the match. The Judgment Day is featured so much so we should get their reaction as soon as possible.

Bron Breakker was up first looking ready to go. Sami Zayn was up next as the Intercontinental Champion and he got a big ovation. Graves noted that the IC Title has changed hands 15 times at SummerSlam.

Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

Bron went for a Spear right away, so Zayn did a leapfrog to avoid it. Bron was down on the floor leading to Zayn diving onto him on the floor. Back in the ring, Zayn went for a Helluva Kick and Bron avoided it. Bron got some offense going with a leaping clothesline that Pat correctly called a Steiner Line. They battled by the turnbuckle, Zayn was seated on the top rope and Bron hit a Frankensteiner for two. Zayn hit a few slaps to the face, then he did a leapfrog over Bron and Zayn hit a clothesline. Zayn did a lift, Bron flipped over to land on his knees and Bron went for a bulldog off the turnbuckle, but Zayn countered with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn hit an Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckle. Zayn charged for more, but Bron came back with an impressive Spear to knock Zayn down. Bron was selling a right shoulder injury. Bron ran the ropes very quickly leading to another Spear for the pinfall win at 5:40.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Bron Breakker

Analysis: **1/2 This wasn’t about going out there to have some classic match. Their match at Money in the Bank was better. This was about crowning Bron Breakker as a new, dominant Intercontinental Champion. Zayn hit some of his signature moves and some nearfalls, but Bron was too much for him. That first Spear that Bron did might have been better than the second one just because of how explosive it looked. I’m happy for Bron while Sami had a good four-month run as IC Champion.

Bron Breakker celebrated with the Intercontinental Title. Great moment for him.

There were commercials for various WWE things including the WWE 2K24 video game.

The fans voted for the Slim Jim Savage Moment of the Summer. The winner was Drew McIntyre beating up CM Punk on Smackdown in Chicago and taking his bracelet from him.

Stephanie McMahon was shown sitting at ringside. She was clapping. The fans cheered.

It’s Logan Paul-LA Knight for the US Title up next, so here’s a video package.

Logan Paul was up first as the United States Champion, who was booed by the Cleveland crowd even though he’s from a suburb of Cleveland. Rapper MGK was there as well, so he slapped hands with Paul and MGK walked down to the ring with Paul. I thought Paul might get more of a special entrance, but it wasn’t that special other than MGK joining him.

LA Knight was shown arriving in Logan Paul’s Prime truck. Knight was in ring gear. Knight smashed some of the windows in the truck. Knight spoke into the camera saying he’s coming for the US Title with everybody saying “LA Knight…yeah.” That led to LA Knight making his entrance to a big pop.

Paul attacked Knight before he finished his entrance. Knight got back up and whipped Paul into the barricade. Knight threw Paul into the Prime hydration station and rolled the cart into Paul. Knight taunted MGK, who was in the front row with Paul’s buddies. Paul spit some Prime drink into Knight’s face. Paul worked over Knight with punches. Paul cleared off the commentary table. Knight got back up and rammed Paul into the commentary table with Paul’s hands hitting the table repeatedly. They shot it from the wrong angle. Shoot it from a different angle and it will look better. Knight had Paul on his shoulders and Knight lifted up Paul leading to a neckbreaker on the table. The table didn’t break. Knight sent Paul into the ring and the bell rang to start the match. Yeah.

Analysis: That’s a unique way to do about five minutes of action before the bell rang.

United States Championship: Logan Paul vs. LA Knight

Knight nailed Paul with an atomic drop followed by a clothesline for two. Knight went for an elbow drop, but Paul got his knees up to block it. Paul sent Knight shoulders-first into the ring post. Paul did it again sending Knight into the ring post. Paul decked Knight with a clothesline. Paul nailed a big boot to the face followed by a split-legged leg drop but that doesn’t get the win, brother. Paul hit a gutwrench suplex. Paul bounced off the ropes leading to Knight hitting a powerslam. Paul had some bruising under the right eye already so maybe a black eye forming for him. Knight worked over Paul with punches and kicks against the turnbuckle. Knight hit a running knee attack against the turnbuckle. Knight hit a Side Effect slam like Matt Hardy. Knight jumped off the top with an elbow drop for two. Paul came back with a springboard punch or clothesline that knocked Knight off the apron to the floor. Paul hit an amazing springboard moonsault onto Knight on the floor! Wow. That was so good. It was so quick and he did it perfectly. It looked like a rough landing for Paul’s knees, but he appeared to be okay. Back in the ring, Knight went for BFT, Paul avoided it and got a backslide pin. Paul nailed Knight with a punch to the jaw for one…two…no. Knight sold it great and then kicked out at the last moment. Paul went up top, he jumped off with a Frog Splash and Knight avoided it. Knight went for BFT, but Paul shoved him off to avoid it. Paul went up top, Knight jumped up to the top and Knight hit a superplex off the top for two. That was a rough landing for Paul because Knight didn’t get him up fully, but the good thing is they appeared to be okay.

Paul eye-gouged Knight by the ropes. Paul spoke to his buddies at ringside, so Knight kicked Paul to knock him down. Knight grabbed two of Paul’s buddies at ringside and stomped on them. Paul nailed Knight from behind and sent Knight into the ring post. MGK handed Paul the brass knuckles that MGK was wearing around his neck. Knight lifted up Paul, so Paul hit Knight with the brass knuckles to the face. Paul went for the clothesline like a Buckshot Lariat, Knight avoided it and LA Knight hit the BFT (Blount Force Trauma) for the pinfall win! The match went about 12:03.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW United States Champion: LA Knight

Analysis: ***1/4 A pretty good match with some fun moments. There were a couple of rough landings for Paul and he had bruising on his face, but kudos to him for getting through the match. I liked the finish because even though Paul hit Knight with the brass knuckles to the face, it wasn’t a big punch and Knight was able to overcome it to hit the BFT for the win. It wasn’t at the same level as some of Paul’s best matches, but still a solid match to give Knight his first championship on the WWE main roster.

LA Knight celebrated with the US Title while Paul looked sad at ringside.

There was a video featuring Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin that was promoting Manscaped. Otis walked in there with Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri. Otis started using one of the shavers. It was just a way to get an advertisement on a show with a lot of ads.

A video package aired about the WWE Women’s Championship match between champion Bayley and Queen of the Ring Nia Jax.

Nia Jax made her entrance as the Queen of the Ring so she wore a cheap looking queen’s crown on her way to the ring. Bayley was up next as the WWE Women’s Champion with the fans cheering her. Cole spoke about how they have met eachother plenty of times over the last decade, but they haven’t met in a singles match in five and a half years. Samantha Irvin did the in-ring championship introductions.

WWE Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Bayley trapped Jax against the ropes leading to a kick to the right arm. Bayley hit a jawbreaker to get out of a Jax move, but Jax came back with a Samoan Drop. Jax tossed Bayley across the ring. Jax connected with a body slam along with an elbow drop. Jax trapped Bayley against the turnbuckle followed by a brief Stinkface move. Bayley got out of a Jax submission move and Bayley hit a belly-to-back suplex. Jax sent Bayley into the top rope like a stun gun, but Bayley came back with a jumping forearm smash. Bayley sent a charging Jax to the floor. Jax missed a leg drop on the apron, so Bayley kicked Jax into the barricade. Bayley jumped off the steel steps to dive onto Jax leading to Bayley punching Jax a few times. Bayley went up top, but Jax was there to trip up Bayley on the turnbuckle. Jax powered out of a guillotine choke attempt by Bayley. Jax hit a senton splash and a leg drop for two. Jax went to the middle turnbuckle and jumped off with a leg drop, but Bayley moved out of the way so Jax hit the mat. Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly move for two. That was Bayley’s old finisher that only gets two counts now. Bayley charged at Jax, who hit a uranage slam. Jax set up for the Annihilator splash and connected for two because Bayley managed to kick out of that. Jax was shocked while the announcers were shocked too. Jax headbutted Bayley a few times and sent her into the corner. Jax charged, Bayley moved and Jax went shoulder-first into the ring post. Bayley dove onto Jax on the floor, but Jax caught her and Jax gave Bayley a Samoan Drop on the floor.

Jax sent Bayley back into the ring leading to a running splash. Jax hit a running hip attack against the turnbuckle. Jax went for the Annihilator again, but Bayley got up and punched Jax in the backside. Bayley gave Jax an impressive Powerbomb that drew a big reaction from the fans. There were “holy shit” chants. Bayley went up top and hit an elbow drop for two.

It’s Tiffy Time! Tiffany Stratton ran down to the ring with the Money in the Bank briefcase while referee Dan Engler ran down to the ring with her. Stratton went on the apron, but Bayley punched her down before there was an official cash in. Jax got a rollup. Bayley hit a running knee to Jax’s face. Jax caught a running Bayley and hit a Powerbomb. Jax hit another Powerbomb. Jax hit the Annihilator splash. Jax went to the middle turnbuckle and hit a second Annihilator splash for the pinfall win. It went 12:30.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW WWE Women’s Champion: Nia Jax

Analysis: ***1/2 I liked the match. Jax has really improved over the last year while Bayley is awesome and always has good matches. They worked well together with some creative nearfalls that were believable. Bayley hitting that Powerbomb was impressive. The Tiffany Stratton spot was a way to distract Bayley because she had to knock Stratton off the apron. That allowed Jax to recover with two straight Powerbombs followed by the Annihilator two more times for the win. Jax had to hit the Annihilator three times to win this match, so that puts over Bayley as a tough champion to beat.

After the match, Nia Jax celebrated the championship win while her friend Tiffany Stratton celebrated with her. Jax hugged her mom at ringside and The Rock’s mom, who is Jax’s aunt, was also there at ringside for a hug.

There were a couple of commercials.

It was mentioned by Cole that NXT moves to The CW on October 1st.

A video package aired for the outstanding CM Punk-Drew McIntyre rivalry. The video package was terrific. It covered the story well and I liked the song choice they went with. That match is next.

Seth “Freakin” Rollins aka Seth Franklin Rollins (real people know) made his entrance wearing a ridiculous black and white jacket since he’s the referee. Rollins was wearing a referee camera on his left ear as well. Rollins had a referee tank top shirt that was bedazzled along with shiny silver-colored pants. Seth certainly likes to stand out with his gear.

Drew McIntyre made his entrance looking angry as the Scottish Warrior wearing a long black and green jacket. It was 9:00 p.m. ET as Drew made his entrance so the stadium was dark and that made the entrances look cooler. Drew: “Bring that bitch out here.”

CM Punk got a big ovation for his first televised singles match in nearly 11 years. Punk was wearing a “Best in the World” hoodie on his way to the ring. Punk suffered a torn triceps at the Royal Rumble in late January. It’s been over six months since then, so it’s good to see Punk back in action after a long layoff.

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Seth “Freakin” Rollins is the special guest referee)

The rules are likely going to be relaxed in this match with Rollins as the referee, which was covered on Raw this week.

Rollins separated the two men and then he called for the bell. Punk had tape on his right arm where he had the surgery earlier this year. Punk and Drew got into a slugfest right away. Punk stomped on Drew repeatedly, so Rollins pulled Punk away because it was a five count. Drew punched and stomped on Punk repeatedly, so Rollins pulled Drew back after the five count. Punk came back with a kick along with a clothesline. Drew hit a thrust to the throat and a hard chop. Punk clotheslined Drew over the top to the floor. Punk jumped off the apron to knock Drew down on the floor. Punk sent Drew into the ring post. Rollins was doing a very slow count as Punk sent Drew over the barricade at ringside. Punk elbowed Drew in the head. Rollins was sitting on the top rope while the fight continued on the floor, so there was no count. Punk sent Drew into the steel steps. After Punk got some offense by sending Drew into the steps a few more times, Drew caught Punk on the floor and sent Punk into the apron. Drew swung Punk into the commentary table. Drew sent Punk under the ring and did a catapult to send Seth’s sternum into the steel bar. Rollins was clapping about it. Back in the ring, Drew hit a snap suplex. Drew covered, but Punk kicked out at one. Punk tried to come back with punches, but Drew was back up with a hard chop. Drew hit a belly to belly suplex across the ring. Rollins didn’t count right away so he told Drew he had a bad knee. Drew slapped Punk in the head, Punk slapped back and Punk hit some kicks. Drew gave Punk a Powerbomb for just a one count while Rollins told Drew that he counted that time. Drew hit a sitout Powerbomb for two because Rollins did a proper count that time.

Drew brought a steel chair into the ring. Drew told Rollins to just turn around to let Drew take care of this. Drew went for a chair shot, but Rollins took the chair from him. Rollins charged with the chair, Drew avoided it and Rollins stopped himself from hitting Punk. That led to Punk getting a rollup for two because Rollins was slow to count due to turning his back to them. Drew came back with a neckbreaker. Drew took out Punk’s bracelet that he stole and Drew put it on his hand. Punk was back with a jumping side kick along with a neckbreaker. Punk hit a running high knee followed by another running knee in the corner. Punk hit a third running knee followed by a clothesline. Punk went up top, blew a kiss to Rollins and jumped off with an elbow drop. Punk covered Drew for a two count. Punk went for the Anaconda Vice submission, Drew tried to fight it and then Punk got it locked in. Punk took the bracelet off Drew’s left hand, so the fans cheered that. When Punk turned around, Drew was backup and Drew hit a Claymore Kick for one…two…no because Punk got the left shoulder up. Nice nearfall there! Drew went for the Future Shock DDT, but Punk got out of it and Punk sent Drew into the ring post. Punk set up for the Go To Sleep and then Punk was looking at Rollins, who put the bracelet on his left hand. Punk wondered why Rollins had the bracelet on while Rollins said that he was just keeping it safe since he’s the referee. Drew got back up to punch Punk in the back and Punk crashed into Rollins, who bumped to the floor. Drew went for the Future Shock DDT, Punk got out of it and Punk hit the GTS. The crowd was counting up to six when Rollins got into the ring to count the pin for one…two…no because Drew got his shoulder up.

Punk got in Rollins’ face and yelled at him about being slow with the count. Rollins said that we don’t need or want Punk here. Rollins said that not everything is about Punk. Rollins said it’s not always about you, asshole. Punk picked up Rollins and hit him with the GTS. Punk: “It ain’t always about me, but it’s never about you.” Punk got his bracelet back. When Punk turned around, Drew hit Punk with a low blow like Punk did to Drew in the past. Drew was back up and hit the Claymore Kick so Rollins counted the pin for the one…two…and three! Rollins did a count that was at a regular speed although there was a bit of a delay before the third count. It went 17:04.

Winner by pinfall: Drew McIntyre

Analysis: ****1/4 I thought it was a great match that was heavy on storyline with Drew and Punk each having moments where they got mad at Rollins, who really played his role well. I figured one of the two guys would attack Rollins and that’s what happened when Punk hit Rollins with the GTS. That ended up costing Punk the match because Drew was able to hit the low blow cheap shot and the Claymore Kick. The stuff with the bracelet was a bit much because it’s such a cheap thing, but I know for Punk it’s the sentimental value that matters to him. I’m glad Punk got through the match and hopefully he can stay healthy for a long time. Drew was awesome in the match as usual. I think there will be a McIntyre-Punk rematch soon perhaps inside Hell in a Cell at the Bad Blood PLE in October, but we might see Punk against Rollins at the Bash in Berlin PLE later this month. A triple threat with those three guys is also a possibility as well.

After the match, Drew McIntyre grabbed the bracelet off Punk’s arm and Drew put it back on his arm. Drew put his foot on Punk’s chest and posed as the victor of the match. Referees checked on Punk in the ring as Drew walked away.

There were some more commercials about various WWE things. There is a Damian Priest documentary that airs on Peacock on Monday, August 5th.

Damian Priest was in the locker room getting ready. Finn Balor walked in saying they looked everywhere and couldn’t find him. Priest said he probably left. They both said sorry about what happened earlier. Balor said that The Judgment Day comes first. Balor said he knows Priest doesn’t want him out there, but if he changes his mind, just say the word.

The video package aired for the Damian Priest-Gunther match for the World Heavyweight Title coming up next.

Gunther made his entrance alone wearing a long jacket as usual. The stats noted that Gunther was 6-0 since losing the Intercontinental Title and we know he won King of the Ring to earn this title match. Gunther beat Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Jey Uso and Randy Orton to win the King of the Ring tournament. They showed some legends watching the show from the Legends Suite.

Damian Priest of The Judgment Day made his entrance as the World Heavyweight Champion. The storyline going into the match has seen Gunther come across as more of a pure heel by mocking Priest for being street trash. Priest has been a heel for over two years, but he has been cheered of late. Priest has been the World Champion for 118 days since cashing in Money in the Bank at WrestleMania 40 four months ago. Ring announcer Samantha Irvin did the in ring championship introductions.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest vs. GUNTHER

Gunther had scars on his chest from his battle with Finn Balor from last Monday on Raw. Referee Chad Patton was wearing the referee cam.

Priest was very aggressive right away with some punches and elbow smashes. Gunther left the ring, so Priest nailed him with a jumping punch to the back. Gunther sent Priest back-first into the ring post and then a suplex onto the ring apron. Gunther nailed Priest with a hard chop. Gunther was in control in the ring with a body slam. Priest came back with punches and the dreaded ear clap move. Gunther countered a suplex leading to a chop and butterfly suplex across the ring. Gunther with a chop, Priest with a punch and Gunther nailed a boot to the face. Gunther went to the turnbuckle, so Priest punched him a few times. Gunther was seated on the turnbuckle and Priest hit a jumping kick to the head. Priest did a Frankensteiner off the turnbuckle followed by the Broken Arrow slam for two. Priest worked over Gunther with kicks to the body. Gunther came back with chops, so Priest chopped Gunther and Priest hit a kick that knocked Gunther down. Gunther’s chest was bleeding. Gunther chopped Priest a few more times, but Priest blocked a chop and hit a forearm to the jaw. Priest connected with a superkick that knocked Gunther down. Priest charged, Gunther moved and Priest hit the turnbuckle. Gunther hit a running dropkick followed by a Powerbomb for two. Gunther was looking at his bloody chest. Gunther worked over Priest with palm strikes to the head. Priest hit a spinning kick. Priest hit a South of Heaven move that’s a Chokeslam for a two count. Priest signaled for the Razor’s Edge, but Gunther blocked it and delivered a chop. Priest went for a kick, Gunther blocked that and hit an overhead suplex. Gunther hit two clotheslines in a row for a two count.

Gunter was in control with a boot to the head while Priest was on his knees. Priest told him to bring it, so Gunther chopped Priest to knock him down. Gunther chopped Priest again. Finn Balor showed up on ringside to encourage his buddy Priest. Gunther continued the attack with more chops to Priest. Priest fought back with punches until Gunther stopped that with a boot to the face. Gunther wiped the blood off his chest and rubbed it over his hair. Gunther kicked Priest in the head along with a running kick to the ribs. Balor was encouraging Priest, so Gunther kicked Balor to knock Finn down. Priest slowly got back up as the fans cheered and Priest hit a stiff clothesline. Priest hit another clothesline. Priest hit connected with the Razor’s Edge, but Gunther got back up quickly. Priest hit South of Heaven near the ropes, so when Priest covered, Balor put Gunther’s left leg on the bottom rope! They showed a replay of what Balor did. The announcers said that Priest never saw it because of how he covered, but Priest saw the replay on the video screen. Balor had a smirk on his face. Priest tried to go after Balor, but Gunther grabbed Priest and applied a sleeper hold on the mat. Gunther held onto the choke hold on the mat while Priest sold it like he was out and that’s when Priest fought back to get out of it. Priest covered Gunther for two. Priest grabbed Balor around the throat. Gunther picked up Priest and hit a Powerbomb. Gunther applied a sleeper hold on the mat with a body scissors around the waist. The referee raised Priest’s hand, Priest was out and Gunther wins! Yes! GUNTHER is the new World Heavyweight Champion! It went 16:40.

Winner by submission AND NEW World Heavyweight Champion: GUNTHER

Analysis: ****1/4 I liked the match quite a bit and the result made me very happy as a huge GUNTHER fan. The obvious story is that The Judgment Day had a rough night because of this match and the Ripley/Morgan match. They have teased issues between Priest and Balor for a long time with Balor coming across as a guy who is jealous of Priest, so we saw it come into play here. They had a very physical match with a lot of hard strikes and big moves by both guys. It was probably one of Priest’s best singles matches of his career. For Gunther, it was the usual excellent performance in a PLE match. I think the right guy won the match because it’s time for Gunther to be a World Heavyweight Champion and I hope he has a long title reign. I thought Priest has been good as a face in the past, so we’ll see how he does in that role again since he’ll likely be feuding with Balor soon.

After the match, Gunther kissed his wife at ringside and greeted some friends. Gunther walked over to the commentary table and stood on the table with the World Heavyweight Title around his waist.

Analysis: I’m so happy for Gunther. He’s one of the best all-around performers in wrestling today and having him as the World Champion is a great thing for WWE.

There was a quick video about John Cena’s 2025 Farewell tour.

The Smackdown on USA Network premiere is on Friday, September 13th.

A replay was shown of Dominik Mysterio costing Rhea Ripley her match with Liv Morgan earlier in the night. Pat McAfee narrated the clips in his unique way.

Let’s Hear From The Miz & R-Truth

The Awesome Truth duo of The Miz & R-Truth were in the ring for a promo. The Miz said that this show set the record for an American SummerSlam attendance record with 57,791 in the crowd.

Grayson Waller and Austin Theory aka A-Town Down Under showed up at ringside for the interruption. They trashed The Miz for being disgusting like the fans. Theory trashed the Cleveland Browns as the worst NFL team of all-time. Ouch. Theory said that the fans look like Jelly Roll. Waller said that Jelly Roll said that he’s the only man to make music worse than R-Truth. That led to Truth saying that we are in the home of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Truth thought that Theory and Waller were the Rock N Roll Express. Miz tried to correct Truth. Jelly Roll was in the ring with a chair. Theory and Waller were kicked in the gut so they could bend over. Jelly Roll hit both Waller and Theory with chair shots to the back. Jelly Roll gave Theory a Chokeslam. The trio of Miz, Truth & Jelly Roll each hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle fist drops on Theory. The fans loved it.

Analysis: That was fun. Jelly Roll did a good job and probably got to live out a dream by doing moves in a WWE ring.

This Monday on Raw: Wyatt Sicks trio of Rowan, Lumis & Gacy vs. Chad Gable & The Creed Brothers.

The WWE Bash In Berlin PLE takes place on Saturday, August 31st. That’s four weeks away. I love 1 p.m. ET start times.

It’s main event time with Cody Rhodes facing Solo Sikoa in a Bloodline Rules Match. A video package aired to set it up.

Solo Sikoa was up first for the main event as the challenger. He made his entrance alone without any members of The Bloodline joining him. It was Solo’s first match at a SummerSlam and he’s in the main event of the show. Good for him.

The Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was shown on his extravagant bus where he walked his beloved dog Pharoah on a leash. I saw Cody mention recently that this was Pharoah’s final trip on the road (Graves mentioned it as well) and Cody left Pharoah with WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson, who gave Cody some words of encouragement. Arn said that 54,000 people think that Cody is a damn fine WWE Champion. Arn said that those four guys are coming for Cody. Arn said that he’s got a little influence, had a few conversations and told Cody that he has a few friends that are on the way.

As Cody kept on walking, he left Pharoah with a friend and was given his American Nightmare jacket. Cody put on some headgear and made his way into the arena.

Analysis: I love seeing stuff like that. It’s a PLE main event so giving Cody a special entrance like that is nice to see. It showed us Cody walking from his bus towards the building while showing some people who mean a lot to him. That was cool to see Arn again and seeing him give some words of encouragement to Cody. Nice touch.

Cody Rhodes made his entrance as the Undisputed WWE Champion. The fans were very loud throughout the entrance while singing the song and getting loud for the “WHOA-OH” part as usual. Cody has been WWE Champion for 118 days, this was his fourth (televised) title defense as champion and he has a 2-2 career record at SummerSlam. They have put stats up for every entrance tonight and that’s good to see. Ring announcer Samantha Irvin did the championship introductions and she was fantastic as usual. The crowd is ready to go for this match.

Undisputed WWE Championship Bloodline Rules Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

A Bloodline Rules Match means that anything goes.

The match started with neither man getting the advantage while Solo blocked a Cody punch that Cody loves to do. Solo knocked Cody down near the turnbuckle, so Cody bailed to the floor to avoid the hip attack. Back in the ring, Solo headbutted Cody followed by a chop. Solo punched Cody and told him to sit his ass down. Solo sent Cody over the top to the apron, but Cody fought back and Cody hit a Disaster Kick. Solo was on the floor, so Cody hit a suicide dive onto Solo on the floor. Cody ran the ropes leading to Solo punching Cody to stop that. Back in the ring, Solo did an impressive counter leading to a spinning heel kick. Solo connected with a Samoan Drop. Solo hit another Samoan Drop for two. Solo wanted a Samoan Spike, Cody blocked that with a kick to the thumb and a kick to the face. Cody jumped off the ropes with a Cody Cutter followed by a clothesline over the top to the floor. Cody sent Solo into the Prime bottle at ringside. Cody had a drink and then hit Solo with the bottle. Back in the ring, Cody hit his up punch followed by the Dusty combo leading to the bionic elbow. Cody went for a springboard attack, but Solo caught him and Solo hit a Powerbomb for two. Solo was booed heavily as he hit a running hip attack on Cody against the turnbuckle. Cody got a rollup for two. Solo hit the Spinning Solo lifting uranage slam for a two count. That was a finishing move earlier in Solo’s career in the NXT days. Solo did the deadly trapezius muscle squeeze, Cody broke free and Solo hit another Samoan Drop for two. Solo set up Cody upside down against the turnbuckle leading to Solo hitting a running headbutt. Solo hit another headbutt while Cody was upside down against the turnbuckle. Cody avoided a third headbutt attempt. Cody went up top and jumped off with a cross body block onto Solo. Cody charged at Solo, who hit him with a spinning Bossman Slam for two. Solo took a long time going to the turnbuckle, so Cody met him there. Cody jumped to the top rope and connected with a superplex. Cody and Solo exchanged punches. Cody went for a move off the ropes, Solo caught him teasing a Cross Rhodes, but Cody turned it around and Cody hit Cross Rhodes. That’s when the interference began.

Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa went into the ring to attack Cody. They hit a corner attack on Cody. They hit a double team neckbreaker on Cody leading to Solo getting a two count. The music of Kevin Owens hit as Owens ran down to the ring and went after The Bloodline in the ring. Owens superkicked Solo to knock him down. Owens punched Tama and Loa repeatedly. Tama was back up with punches on Owens. The fans were chanting “Randy” and right on cue here’s the return of Randy Orton to a thunderous ovation as Orton’s music played. Orton punched Tama at ringside and threw him into the barricade. Orton went into the ring and hit Loa with an RKO. Owens hit Tama with a Stunner. Orton hit a powerslam on Solo. Owens went up top and hit a Swanton Bomb on Solo. Cody hit Cross Rhodes on Solo for just a two count because Solo got his right shoulder up. Orton and Owens went fighting with Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa to the backstage area. Cody tossed the top half of the steel steps into the ring. Cody hit Solo with the steel steps two times while Solo was up against the turnbuckle. Solo was able to get back up and hit a Spear for two. It was about 20 minutes into the match. Solo setup Cody against the steel steps. Solo charged with a running hip attack, Cody moved out of the way and Solo’s back hit the steel steps. Cody hit Cross Rhodes once, Cody hit Cross Rhodes twice and here comes Jacob Fatu. Jacob jumped off the top with a twisting body attack on Cody to knock him down. Jacob did a double jump moonsault onto Cody. Jacob put Solo on top of Cody for one…two…and no because Cody got his left shoulder up. Solo told Jacob to put Cody through the table.

Jacob Fatu sent Cody out of the ring and Jacob superkicked Cody to knock him down on the floor. Jacob superkicked Cody onto the commentary table. Jacob went up top and Jacob jumped off the top with a Superfly Splash that put Cody through the table. Jacob was selling a right leg injury because he had a rough landing when he hit the table. Back in the ring, Solo went up top and hit an Uso Splash for two. They replayed Jacob Fatu’s splash on Cody and you could see Jacob grab his right knee right away because his knee hit the table hard. Cody was back up with a superkick. Cody went to the turnbuckle and jumped off with a Cody Cutter!

A graphic appeared saying “Head of the Table” as the familiar music of the real Tribal Chief played and Roman Reigns walked out wearing an “OTC” shirt since he’s the Original Tribal Chief. The fans popped loudly for Reigns as he slowly walked down to the ring while both guys were down in the ring.

Roman Reigns went into the ring and nailed Solo Sikoa with a Superman Punch. Huge pop from the crowd. The fans loved it. Reigns nailed his cousin Solo with a Spear. Reigns looked over at Cody, who was seated up against the ropes. Reigns looked out at the crowd as they chanted “holy shit” for his return. Reigns nodded at Cody as a sign of respect. The fans chanted “Thank You Roman” for Reigns. Cody picked up Solo, Cody hit Cross Rhodes and Cody pinned Solo while looking at Reigns and the referee counted one…two…and three to give Cody the win. This match went 29:10.

Winner by pinfall: Cody Rhodes

Analysis: ***3/4 It wasn’t an epic match necessarily, but I enjoyed it immensely for all of the big moments in a long match that had so many crazy things happen. The return of Roman Reigns as a babyface is something that the fans wanted to see and Reigns didn’t hesitate in terms of who he was going to attack. It was about Reigns getting revenge on cousin Solo Sikoa for taking over as Tribal Chief even though we will probably find out that Reigns didn’t want that to happen. I hope Jacob Fatu isn’t legitimately hurt because he’s such a talented guy. The crowd reaction for the match was interesting because they were quiet for a lot of it in the first half since they knew there was going to be a lot of interference, so once the interference started, that’s when the crowd reactions grew. It was also very loud once Roman Reigns made his entrance, which is not a surprise since WWE fans were chanting “We Want Roman” for months. I’m happy Cody is still the champion and it was a great showing by him as usual while Solo did his part well too.

Cody Rhodes was handed the WWE Championship while Roman Reigns looked on approvingly from the aisle. They showed some replays.

Cody Rhodes celebrated on the turnbuckle while staring at Roman Reigns. Solo Sikoa was screaming at ringside about what happened. Reigns pointed at his shirt that said “OTC” meaning Original Tribal Chief. Cole said that the real Tribal Chief is back and God help Solo Sikoa. Cody continued to celebrate. The show ended there right at 11:00 p.m. ET so it was four hours long.

Analysis: I liked the Cody Rhodes-Roman Reigns staredown that was done in a way where it was between two guys who respect eachother. It wasn’t a staredown between rivals. It was between two guys who had a history, but now Roman is a babyface too, so they’re on the same side against Solo Sikoa’s version of The Bloodline. We could see Cody & Roman as a babyface superteam down the road at something like WarGames or even before that. There are a lot of possibilities there.

The runtime of SummerSlam was 4:00:00 on WWE Network/Peacock.

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Five Stars of the Show

  1. Gunther
  2. Cody Rhodes
  3. Drew McIntyre/CM Punk
  4. Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley
  5. LA Knight

Welcome back Roman Reigns too.

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Final Thoughts

I’m going 8.5 out of 10 for this show.

Excellent show from top to bottom. I enjoyed it a lot. It was such a strong show storyline-wise. They did a nice job of coming up with creative finishes for most of the matches. I know that some fans complain about finishes that aren’t clean. To me, what matters is if the finish fits the story and I think on this show, a lot of the finishes made sense. I didn’t mind any of the finishes. Regarding Drew McIntyre-CM Punk, it was clever because it sets up Punk against Seth Rollins while we could also get a Drew/Punk rematch soon too.

Welcome back to Roman Reigns. It wasn’t the best Cody Rhodes WWE Title match because the fans knew there was going to be interference and they waited until the interference started to really start reacting to the match. I liked how Roman Reigns made his choice clear right away by nailing Solo Sikoa with a Superman Punch and Spear. Cody Rhodes getting the win thanks to Reigns was the right finish because it establishes Reigns as a new babyface after four years of being a heel.

I don’t think there was any one match that stood out as the best of the night. If you see my ratings, I had several of them around four stars and then a couple of them above that. Bad night for The Judgment Day since Dominik Mysterio cost Rhea Ripley her match and Finn Balor cost Damian Priest his match. Now we get to see what happens to that group that has dominated Raw for over two years. Booking finishes that keep people watching is the right way to do it.

Congratulations to all the new champions. There were six title matches and four title changes. I’m most happy about Gunther and Bron Breakker winning gold. Lastly, I’ll just say it’s up there with one of the best WWE PLE’s this year. SummerSlam was a great success.

Here are my rankings of WWE PLE’s in 2024 so far:

WrestleMania 40 – 8.5 (out of 10)

SummerSlam – 8.5

Backlash France – 8

Clash at the Castle – 8

Money in the Bank – 7.75

Royal Rumble – 7.75

King And Queen Of The Ring – 7.75

Elimination Chamber – 7.5

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As a reminder, I have a listing of every WWE PPV that I reviewed in order by year. Thank you for supporting us at TJRWrestling. We appreciate you.

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Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

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